So recently I created a Brainstorming thread where I discussed the possibility of changing the way we promote Senior Mods. After discussing the issue both here and with the /r/TheoryOfReddit community, I think I have come up with a way to do this, and it involves using a bot (which is why we recently recruited /u/angrypotato1).

Basically, there are a number of things each moderator should be doing on a daily (or at least weekly) basis here at The Imaginary Network: Expanded... of course you have basic mod stuff like approving legit submissions, removing rule-breaking submissions or spam, answering modmail, that sort of thing. Our network is a little different from the rest of reddit, though. We allow almost anyone to become a moderator here, provided they are willing to be a visibly active member of the community. That means in addition to the 'normal' moderation duties, we also require our junior moderators to contribute at least one submission or comment to each subreddit they moderate each and every week (provided they don't go on vacation or something). As you should already know, moderators are divided into two groups - Junior mods and Senior mods. Junior moderators usually mod between 1-5 network subreddits, while Senior mods are added to every network subreddit. Senior Moderators are obviously expected to be more active than Junior Mods, but since they are added to all 120+ subreddits, we don't expect them to make 120+ submissions or comments each week (but we wouldn't stop them, lol).

Up until now, Senior mods have been hand-picked by myself, and I didn't really have any rhyme or reason to it - I would just pick whoever I felt deserved it the most, whenever I felt a new Senior Mod was needed. However, the network has grown so large lately, it's difficult to keep track of network activity when there are so many subreddits and we have so many network mods already (we currently have 56 and counting). Our network is really taking off, and that's awesome, but we really need a better system that doesn't hinge on the decisions of one person (me).

Now that we have someone available to write custom bots for the network, we have a lot more options available to us. One of those options is keeping track of all moderator activity in all network subreddits using a point system and using a bot to do that. Pretty much, here's my proposal:

Every existing Senior Moderator starts with 1,000 points. Obviously, they have already been promoted to SM, so they should start with the bare minimum required for that status.

Every existing Junior Moderator will start with 0 points, so everyone is on a level playing field.

Different moderator actions will be assigned different point totals based on their perceived value to the network. Once a Junior Moderator reaches 1,000 points in total, they are eligible to be nominated for Senior Mod status.

Once a JM is eligible for SM status, an existing Senior Mod must nominate them for promotion. If they can't find a single SM who is willing to nominate them, they must be doing something wrong.

After an existing SM creates a [Promotion] thread (much like an Induction thread), they are automatically promoted after 10 days with no objections. If any network moderator objects to the Promotion, we go into a full vote (just like an Induction thread).

1 point for removing or spamming a rule-breaking submission or comment anywhere in the network (basic mod stuff) (max 10 points per day)

2 points for answering a user-generated modmail anywhere in the network (max 10 points per day)

0 points for banning someone (this should not be encouraged)

50 points for exchanging sidebar links with a related subreddit with more than 1,000 users (this and everything else below will have to be manually added)

10 points for bringing in more than 100 users to a single network subreddit in a single day (verified with redditmetrics.com)

200 points for bringing in more than more than 1,000 users to a single network subreddit in a single day.

Obviously individual point values can be changed later with a separate proposal, and so can the total points required to be nominated. If you think any of the point values should be changed before the vote, speak now or forever hold your peace.

This is not a vote, this is simply a discussion of a new proposal. The vote will be held five days from now.

There shouldn't be any points awarded for approving posts. This is because approving is a thing which only one mod can do for a post so basically whoever chanced upon the modqueue at the right time gets the points. I guess 1 point per post is a small number to begin with but still, I don't think we should have points for that.

OK, I removed that from the proposal, because I thought about it, and it would basically be giving extra points for mods who approve their own submissions (which I do). It could always be added back at some point in the future with a separate proposal if we change our mind.

I have a request (two requests actually), and it's something that doesn't hinge on this proposal passing: could you have the bot automatically pm network moderators when it has been more than a week since they have left a comment or submission in a network subreddit? Just something politely reminding them that they have been inactive for a week, and all network mods are required to be visibly active.

Second request, could you have the bot automatically make a submission to /r/ImaginaryNetwork when it has been more than a month since a network mod has been active in the network at all (and mention them by username in the body of the thread so it pings them if they have reddit gold)?

/u/izzy has set a precedent for 'structure' moderators (CSS, bots) to still submit to the network, if not overly regularly. In any case, you should probably still be participating, as an effective Senior Mod, by commenting; once a week isn't too bad, I imagine that you can deal with that.

That's all I can think of right now. Basically bots and the users who purely handle the technical (css/bots) side of things (although izzy does submit to the network regularly, but I consider that above and beyond).

I think most things are fine except that I think the 100 points for AoTD is overkill, it takes like 10 posts to be considered for senior mod and AoTD is really a special case in the Imaginary Network because it isn't like the other subreddits and not every mod is a member.

I still agree that those posts should be worth more points but not over 33x the amount of a normal post, I think 15 points would be a good place. More points for the effort, but not that it makes a cakewalk to 1000 points.

I'll move it back to 50 for now, but I've been having to heavily recruit for AOTD recently because we keep having mods drop out and we have to fill dates at the last minute. I'd like to make an incentive for existing network mods to participate in AOTD, and making it easier to get promoted to SM if you're active in AOTD seemed like a logical thing to do, since it's now one of our 'flagship' subreddits (one of the largest subreddits in the network) and it takes by far the most amount of effort to keep running.

I also gave high point values for exchanging sidebar links and bringing in new users because that's something I would like to see more network moderators doing (besides myself).

4. Once a JM is eligible for SM status, an existing Senior Mod must nominate them for promotion. If they can't find a single SM who is willing to nominate them, they must be doing something wrong.

I conflicted about this. It should prevent people from abusing the system and doing things solely to rack up points. It also takes away the decision making from a single person (you) and distributes it to all of the senior mods.

However, as you mentioned in the brainstorming thread:

For example, most of the existing Senior Mods are on the same page, policy-wise. If a Jr mod has the potential to become a Sr mod, I don't want his views on policy to factor into it - his (or her) level of activity in the network should be the only deciding factor. I'm worried that a system that involves nomination might unnecessarily exclude Jr mods with unpopular opinions on policy at some point in the future.

Personally, I think that for now the way you've setup the proposal is good. It helps us take the first step in decentralising the decision making authority regarding senior mods. As it is now, I would agree to the proposal. But I do think we need to consider if the nomination system is the best way to go in the future, especially if we have a mod who accumulates the necessary amount of points but has different policy views than the senior mods.

On another note, since any network mod can raise objection to a new senior mod, I'm assuming all network mods also get to take part in the vote. I'm also assuming that the it would work like a regular vote thread i.e. senior mods have 3x votes while regular mods have 1 vote each. I don't have a problem with this if it is so, I just want to be clear.

since any network mod can raise objection to a new senior mod, I'm assuming all network mods also get to take part in the vote.

That is correct. You need only a single SM to nominate you, and then from there it's a simple majority vote, where every network mod gets a say, just like any other vote. Of course if no one objects to the thread then it's a unanimous decision.

I love the idea of this new system, as a massive RPG player and a fan of statistics I can't wait to see how everyone stacks up against one another :D cheeky bit of rivalry never hurt anyone. Also am I the only one calling out for an Elder mod title at 1,000,000 points?